Originally posted by howard:
How often do you suppose i could fish for these predators without running the risk of making them hook-shy?
Howard,
That's really a tough question...and I'm just not familiar with SMB behavior in a pond...SMB great fish, absolutely great fish, but I haven't had any in a pond.
I can respond with my opinion on the HSB and CNBG....a lot depends on your stocking rate....higher stocking rate = easier to catch fish, all other things being equal. I had 20 HSB in a small(less than 1/4 acre) pond. They very quickly became hook shy...of anything I had. Now I want to remove them and I can't...at least with hook and line. They refuse everything. I fished that pond probably weekly or at least every two weeks initially and it took less than 6 months for the HSB to become hook shy and after a few more months, they became virtually uncatchable. I'm switching over to LMB in that pond primarily because they will be very catchable, relatively speaking. They will spawn, become more prolific, and every one of them that is caught will be removed except for the initial stockers which I have fin clipped...hence conditioning will be minimized. No catch and release on LMB in that pond.
Regarding the CNBG, you will have much less of a problem with conditioning...on the small and medium sized fish. The ones that get large, however, will respond negatively to frequent fishing pressure.
I really wish I could say it much more positively and say that predator fishing will be great in spite of fishing presssure, but my opinion is that the HSB will become quickly conditioned unless the fishing pressure is very infrequent. Only long absences without fishing will undo that conditioning...or removing EVERY HSB that is caught and replacing them with new fish...a put and take operation. Catch and release will soon mean no catch, I fear. The CNBG will provide great entertainment and withstand regular fishing pressure except for the larger fish.
I hope I'm wrong and that your situation will be different than what I have experienced in my ponds. Best of luck and I'd love to hear about how those SMB perform in your pond.
